1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a robot operating range setting device for setting an operating range of an industrial robot which will be referred to as a robot hereinafter.
2. Description of the Related Art
In factories, etc., robots are used to carry out various work under the condition that working tools are attached to the hands. Alternatively, in some cases, robots execute various work under the condition that the hands of the robots hold workpieces. At the time of executing work as described above, it is necessary to prevent the working tools and others from interfering with peripheral devices of the robots. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-121215 discloses a method in which an operation range of the working tool is set so that the working tool cannot interfere with the peripheral devices.
In this connection, a robot control unit is usually provided with an operating range monitoring function. In the case where each shaft of the robot or a forward end portion of the tool operates deviating from a respectively set operation range, electric power supplied to a motor of the robot is shut off by this operating range monitoring function and the robot is stopped. As a result, each shaft or the working tool of the robot is prevented from colliding with peripheral devices.
However, even after electric power supply to the motor of the robot has been shut off, each shaft of the robot slightly runs by inertia. Accordingly, a position at which the robot stops deviates from the operating range, which is set for each shaft, by a distance of inertial running. By this inertial running, each shaft of the robot collides with the peripheral devices.
Therefore, it is required that the operating range of the robot be smaller than an actual arriving range while considering the inertial running distance. However, since this inertial running range various by an operating speed of the robot and/or a load weight of the working tool, it is difficult for an operator to set the operating range while estimating an actual arriving range. Therefore, it takes a lot of time for the operator to set the operating range. Further, in the method disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-121215, no consideration is given to such an inertial running distance.
The present invention has been accomplished in view of the above circumstances. It is an object of the present invention to provide a robot operating range setting device capable of making a robot arriving range in which consideration is given to an inertial running distance of the robot.